Ship with Russian chemicals no longer lists Klaipėda as its final destination

The Maltese-flagged ship Ruby carrying a cargo of ammonium nitrate from Russia and drifting off the Norwegian coast has removed Klaipėda from its official journey documents, Klaipėda Port CEO Algis Latakas said on Monday.

This means that the ship’s crew, at the port’s request, no longer lists Klaipėda as its final destination, according to Latakas.

“We managed to arrange for Klaipėda to be taken off the ship's documents,” he told BNS.

The ship, which was damaged in a storm, will name its new destination once it finds a port where it can unload its explosive cargo, Latakas said.

The Marine Traffic website shows that the Ruby is still in the North Sea, off the Norwegian coast, with no destination currently listed.

While the ship is no longer officially heading to Klaipėda, it remains unclear if it will come to the port for repairs, according to the port CEO.

Earlier reports indicated that Vakarų Laivų Gamykla (Western Shipyard, VLG), a Lithuanian shipbuilding and repairing group controlled by Estonia’s BLRT Grupp, won a repair contract in early September.

“Once the cargo is unloaded, the question will be what options there are, which shipyards could accept the ship for repairs. Klaipėda is not ruled out,” Latakas said.

Lithuanian authorities previously said that the ship would not be allowed to enter Klaipėda with its explosive cargo, but the port could accept the vessel for repairs once it is empty.

Earlier in September, Ruby, which was transporting around 20,000 tons of ammonium nitrate from Kandalaksha in Russia to Las Palmas in Spain, requested permission to enter Klaipėda Port to unload its cargo and undergo repairs. It was reported that the ship’s hull, propeller, and rudder had been damaged in a storm.